two exceptional moments swung the game in Citys favour. from miao1234's blog
LOS ANGELES - Rudy Gays short-lived Raptors career came to an abrupt end just over 10 months after it began. Leodis McKelvin Jersey . Masai Ujiri and the Raptors pulled the trigger on a seven-player deal that will send Gay to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for four players, Yahoo Sports first reported Sunday evening. In a deal that could save them as much as $14.5 million next season, the Raptors acquire guards Greivis Vasquez and John Salmons along with forwards Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes in exchange for Gay, Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy. Neither team can comment on the trade directly until after its made official on Monday. "Its never a good time to lose one of your starting players but its a situation we all have to roll with and go with," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said moments before facing Kobe Bryant and the Lakers with only 11 players in uniform. After coming to Toronto in a three-team trade from Memphis on Jan. 30, Gay fell out of favour this season, averaging 19.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting just 39 per cent from the field. Gay can opt out and become a free agent at the end of the year but the Raptors believed he wouldnt walk away from the $19.3 million hes owed, the primary motive for Ujiri. Of the four players coming to Toronto, only Hayes contract is fully guaranteed past this season. Salmons is partially guaranteed for next season - the Raptors would only owe him $1 million if hes waived before June 30 - while Vasquez and Salmons would become free agents this summer if Toronto pulls their qualifying offers. The Raptors went 18-18 after acquiring Gay last season - the sixth best record in the Eastern Conference during that span - but the team, like Gay himself, have gotten off to a disappointing start in 2013-14. Only two players in the league (Vince Carter and Kemba Walker) are shooting worse than Gay (minimum 200 field goal attempts) while the Raptors have won just six of their first 18 games, dropping their last five. Looking to address redundancy at the wing positions - with Gay and the similar DeMar DeRozan accounting for the bulk of Torontos shots - Ujiri opted to hold onto the younger DeRozan, who is having a career season. "Its just part of the game," said DeRozan after learning about the trade. "You think about it but you try to do the best that you can on the court so it doesnt get to the point to where you start questioning whether one or the other will be here." "Its crazy just to see a friend like that go, but once youve been through it a couple of times you kind of understand its part of the game and part of the business," DeRozan said, citing last years trade that brought Gay to Toronto and sent Ed Davis - one of his best friends - to Memphis. Gay was informed of the trade earlier in the day and did not travel with the team to Staples Center. Most of his teammates were informed of the deal after arriving at the arena, including Gray and Acy. Coming off a career year in New Orleans, where he averaged 13.9 points and 9.0 assists, Vasquez fills a need for the Raptors at the point guard position and also makes Kyle Lowry expendable in a subsequent trade. The 26-year-old Venezuelan excels in the pick-and-roll, a weak point for Caseys Raptors and could help aid the continued development of Jonas Valanciunas. Hayes and Patterson are both capable frontcourt players that can be used situationally off the bench in Toronto. Patterson, 24, is averaging 6.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 17 games with the Kings this season. Selected with the 14th overall pick in 2010 by Houston, Patterson can stretch the floor while Hayes, 30, provides the toughness, rebounding and veteran leadership Casey has been looking for. Landry Fields started in Gays place against the Lakers Sunday. He and sophomore Terrence Ross figure to see an increase in playing time without Gay - who was playing over 35 minutes a night - in the lineup. "Were losing three great guys in my opinion," Fields said. "So its tough but at the end of the day its part of the business. You dont get used to it but you have to shake it off." Acy, 23, had played in 36 games with the Raptors over the past two season - averaging 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds - after Toronto selected him with the 37th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Gray, who turned 27 on Saturday has been used sparingly in two-plus years with the team. Bryce Brown Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills defensive end Mark Anderson has been ruled out for Sundays regular-season finale against the New York Jets. Chris Williams Womens Jersey .S. Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples for this falls team competition at Muirfield Village Golf Club.LONDON -- An exquisite equalizer from Yaya Toure sparked a second-half comeback by Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday, with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland giving Manuel Pellegrini his first trophy as manager. Returning to the stadium where Roberto Mancinis City career ended in an FA Cup final loss last May, further Wembley misery appeared to be beckoning when Fabio Borini put Premier League struggler Sunderland in front after 10 minutes. Instead, City, which has now scored 121 goals this season, remains on course for an improbable quadruple that would require all the resolve displayed in the second half to complete. After a flat first-half performance, the recovery began after Toure nonchalantly curled into the net from 30 yards (meters) in the 55th minute, with Samir Nasri volleying home Citys second inside two minutes. City fans were already celebrating just their third trophy in three years -- following a 35-year title drought -- when Jesus Navas completed a counterattack to add the third in the 90th minute. "To win the first trophy I think is important for us all ... because at an important club you must win trophies," said Pellegrini, the Chilean who spent a decade in charge of Spanish clubs without a winners medal. "In the second half we changed it and scored two beautiful goals and we had the patience to win." City is in the Premier League title hunt and has reached the FA Cup quarterfinals, but must overturn a 2-0 deficit against Barcelona to advance in the Champions League from the round-of-16 stage. "I hope it will bring confidence for us to win the other trophies," Nasri said. After more than $1.5 billion of Abu Dhabi investment in less than six years, City has now won each of the domestic trophies in three years, following the 2011 FA Cup and 2012 Premier League title produced by Mancini. But, in a showpiece game seen live in around 180 countries, City was unpicked after just 10 minutes by a team fighting relegation when slack defending allowed Sunderland to pounce. Fernandinho was dispossesssed next to the Sunderland penalty area, allowing Seb Larsson to launch a counterattack before passing to Adam Johnson on the right wing. Frank Summers Bills Jersey. . Johnson then sent the ball high down the flank to Borini, who easily slipped beyond captain Vincent Kompany before scoring low past Costel Pantilimon. In response, there was little threat from a team which is six points off the top of the standings but with two games in hand. Sergio Aguero, back after five games out with a hamstring injury, launched himself down the right flank midway through the first half. But after crossing to Nasri, the France midfielders sight of goal was partially obscured by Lee Cattermole and it was a trouble-free save for Vito Mannone. Making amends for his earlier slackness, a well-timed tackle by Kompany cut out Borinis run on goal -- denying Sunderland a chance to double its lead before halftime. "Our first half, there was memories of Wigan," Nasri said, referring to last years FA Cup final loss. "We said that we need to stay calm, to remain focused and play our football." City did just that, and two exceptional moments swung the game in Citys favour. The curling shot from Toure looped over Mannone into the corner of the net, giving the defensive midfielder a 17th goal of the season. And before Sunderland could regroup there was an equally fine finish from Nasri. From Pantilimons quick goal kick, Aguero sent the ball to Aleksandar Kolarov, who crossed for Nasri to net with a first-time volley. "Theyve scored a great goal to get back into it, hes stuck it in the top corner from 30 yards out and then weve lost a bit of organization and its cost us a second goal," Sunderland captain John OShea said. There was no way back for Sunderland, and Fernandinho seized possession to allow City to mount a late surge forward that ended with Toure setting up Navas to beat Mannone with a close-range finish. "It wasnt to be," Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said. "But we tried ... and now we want to stay in the Premier League." ' ' '
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